1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to video gaming devices for playing of card games and their method of operation. More particularly, it relates to such devices and methods of betting by players for such card games on such devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An important element in the popular appeal of conventional table card gaming is the ability provided to a player to change the amount of his or her wager upon completion of each round of play in the particular game, such as twenty-one or one of the varieties of poker. Thus, when on a winning streak, players tend to increase their bets to take advantage of their run of luck. Conversely, when their luck changes and they start having losses, they tend to decrease their bets to minimize those losses. The ability to make such changes to reflect a player's perception of the progress of the game is a major factor in retaining that player's interest in continuing the game, since the player's net winnings or losses are thus a direct result of that wagering strategy.
In recent years, video simulation versions of many of the table card games have come into widespread use. In the video games, an individual player plays against a computer generated simulation of the game, with the computer programmed to reproduce accurately the deal of the cards, and these games have proved quite popular. Wagering has, however, been constrained by the nature of the prior art devices. Initially such video games provided only for a wager that was constrained by the denomination allowed by the device. In a "quarter machine," for instance, a player could wager only multiples of twenty-five cents on each round of play. The game could not be activated except by depositing one or more quarters into the machine or betting accumulated twenty-five cent credit units held in memory by the device. The amount of a winning payoff was based solely on the card hand which was generated by the computer.
Subsequently, video game devices were constructed that allowed deposit of one or a few coins (commonly from three to eight) in a "multiplier" or "multi-line" configuration with payoff for a specific hand being directly proportional to the number of coins deposited. However, as with the earlier devices, wages made on these types of devices are limited only to increments of a single coin type; a quarter machine will accept quarters but will not accept any other type of coin, so the player is limited as to the maximum wager that can be made. Thus, while a player can decrease his or her wager to a single coin while on a losing streak, the player is essentially prevented from taking advantage of a winning streak to make significantly increased wagers. This of course markedly reduces potential players' interest in the video card games.
The problem cannot be resolved by simply permitting the wagering of a large number of coins or credits per round. However large the amount of coins or credits wagered per round, the wager still has a minimum and maximum limit dictated by the defined denomination. Thus, a dollar player must continue to wager a minimum of one dollar or a one-dollar credit on each round. In the case of physical coin wagers, the extensive time required for a player to deposit a large wager coin-by-coin greatly reduces the speed of the game. It is well known that when a significant time interval elapses between each round of play, players quickly lose interest in continuing the game. Consequently, it may be considered that the current video gaming devices have reached a "dead end" with respect to increasing players' interest, since any significant increase in wagering capability is offset by a substantial decrease in the cycle time for play of the game.
It would therefore be advantageous to have a new type of video card gaming device which would permit a player to make substantial upward or downward changes in wagering between any two rounds or hands of play of the game, without significantly increasing the length of the time interval between such rounds or hands. Such would permit the ongoing game to continue at the normal pace that the player expects, while yet providing opportunities for the player to capitalize on a winning streak or minimize losses during a losing streak.